City weighing proposals as toxic blue-green algae persists in Lady Bird Lake

Even though the calendar has turned to October, summer-like temperatures continue to scorch Central Texas, meaning toxic blue-green algae has not gone away.

On Tuesday, the City of Austin tweeted toxins came back from an algae sample taken out of Lady Bird Lake at Red Bud Isle last week.

The hot weather enables the toxic algae blooms, which means this has been a problem all summer long, with five dogs dying after swimming in Lady Bird Lake.

"We've kept [our dog] out of the water since the beginning of the summer because of that," said Chris Clement.

Since this problem has been identified, the Watershed Protection Department has accepted proposals from people and businesses on what solutions to use. So far, they've seen around a dozen proposals.

Matt Atwood, who founded LoneStar Life Sciences, submitted a plan. His fix: Biochar. This is a natural active charcoal made by burning dead trees. When put in water, it's used as a filter.

"It's like a charcoal filter you use in a refrigerator. It'll absorb any of the toxins in the water," Atwood said. "All of these socks would be attached all the way down to whatever the depth of where the bottom is. As the water comes through, it absorbs everything out of the water, and acts like a filter."

Atwood says his method does not put any chemicals into the water, and would cost the city $80,000, though he has also proposed a maintenance contract that would decrease the price. Atwood also says once the bags of Biochar need to be changed out, the used bags could be used for fertilizer.

Right now, the Watershed Protection Department does not plan on implementing any plan, since Fall has begun. They anticipate the soon-to-come lower temperatures will naturally kill off the algae, buying them time to determine the best plan of action.

"We want to evaluate the data, what they have backing up their proposals, so that next year, we can hopefully implement the best management practices," said Brent Bellinger, Environmental Scientist Senior with Watershed Protection.

Atwood says the problem will only be worse next year, with temperatures getting hotter later into the year each year. "You're going to see this problem continue as long as global warming keeps going. If you have a problem now, act now. It just makes it easier to use next year," Atwood said.

Bellinger says it will be important to thoroughly study each plan and not rush into action, because taxpayer dollars are in play, and to prevent harming the lake inadvertently. "Rather than spending a lot of taxpayer dollars implementing 5, 6, 7 solutions, we want to take a methodical approach," Bellinger said.

Watershed Protection is still taking in proposals. You can email plans here.